Feed distributor



G. OVERTON FEED DI STRIBUTOR Oct. 11, 1949.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 11, 1944 G Z en Ore/f0??- Oct. 11, 1949. v -f 2,484,580

FEED DISTRIBUTOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 11, 19

Flew Ora fuzz law/bk Patented Get. 11, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FEED DISTRIBUTOR Glen Overton, Dowagiac, Mich.

Application December 11, 1944, Serial No. 567,752

This invention relates to devices for distributing fluids as desired over large areas so that 10- calized portions of the large areas will receive desired controlled amounts of the fluids.

Particularly the invention deals with devices for metering viscous liquids uniformly along the length of feed ponds for dehydrating apparatus.

Uniform distribution of fluids, and especially viscous liquids, along the length of elongated areas, is quite diflicult and usually requires the use of elaborate metering equipment.

The present invention, on the other hand, provides a simple, inexpensive, and fool-proof distributor device which will accurately meter controlled quantities of fluids to localized increments of an elongated receiving area.

According to this invention, a casing is pro- Vided with a multi-apertured removable vend plate. A rotor is rotatably mounted in the easing and has a single tapered bore therethrough positioned to mate successively with the apertures in the end plate. The small end of the bore is adjacent the end plate, and the large end of the bore communicates with a chamber in the casing. Fluid to be distributed is fed under pressure to this chamber in the casing and is ejected through the bore of the rotor and through the aperture in the end plate that is aligned with the bore. The rotor is driven at a selected speed. and each time the bore registers with an aperture in the end plate, a metered quantity of fluid is discharged. One end face of the rotor is maintained in thrusting relationship with the end plate by inlet pressure in the chamber acting on the other end face of the rotor, so that leakage of fluid between the apertures of the end plate is eliminated.

The several apertures in the end plate of the casing discharge through separate feed pipes and through spray nozzles or the like positioned at desired stations. The tapered bore in the rotor provides a nozzle which builds up pressure and speeds up flow to overcome the inertia of stationary or slow-moving liquids in the feed pipes.

In accordance with a modification of the present invention, a separate plate is interposed between the removable end plate and the rotor. This separate plate is apertured but is shiftable relative to the end plate so that the apertures of the two plates can be fully aligned, or partially misaligned, as desired, to control the amounts of the metered quantities.

The invention will hereinafter be specifically described as embodied in a twin-drum dehydrating apparatus for uniformly distributing vis- 2 Claims. (Cl. 137104) cous liquids along the length of the nip between the drums. It Will be understood, however, that the distributor devices of this invention are not limited to such usage, being generally useful for distributing fluids.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple and inexpensive distributor for fluids.

A further object of the invention is to provide a distributor device which is automatically sealed by the pressure of fluids being distributed thereby.

Another object of the invention is to provide a liquids distributor composed of a simple casing, a removable casing end plate, and a rotor arranged so that the rotor is held in sealing re-' lationship with the end plate by the pressure of liquids being distributed by the rotor.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a distributor with a rotor having a tapered bore therein creating a nozzle effect on liquids being distributed, to overcome the inertia of previously distributed liquids in the discharge lines from the distributor.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a liquids distributor with an automatic regulator for varying the quantities of liquids distributed.

Other and further objects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the annexed sheets of drawings which, by way of preferred examples, illustrate two embodiments of the invention.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is an isometric View of a feed distributor device for a twin-drum dehydrating ap paratus.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view, with parts in elevation, of the feed distributor shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a plan View of the casing end plate of the distributor shown in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a View similar to Figure 2'but illustrating a modified embodiment of the inven-' tion taken along the line IV-IV of Figure 7.

Figure 5- is a plan View of the rotor for the 1 distributor of Figures 2 and 4. Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary crosssectional view with parts in elevation taken along the line VI-VI of Figure 4. Y Figure '7 is a somewhat diagrammatic end elevational view illustrating the automatic operation of the metering plate in the distributor of Figure 4; as determined by the level of material in 3 the nip of the twin-drum dehydrating apparatus.

As shown on the drawings:

In Figure 1 two drums D are arranged in adjacent horizontal relationship to define a hip N therebetween. End boards such as B are arranged at the ends of the drums to confine liquids to be dehydrated in the nip N. The drums D are rotated in the direction shown by the arrows to carry films of the liquid from the pond maintained in the nip N thereon todehydrate the liquid. The drums are heated and the dehydrated films formed from the liquid thereon are scraped from the drums before they re-enter the pond maintained in the nip N.

The liquid material to be dehydrated is fed from a tank T by means of a pump P through a pipe line L having a valve V therein. The va-lve V meters the liquid to the distributor it of this invention. The distributor i9 is driven by an electric motor M and conduits C such as pipes or tubesi convey the distributed liquid from the device lll tospray'heads S- at spaced intervals along the lengthof the-nip The liquid from the tank 'I- is: thusdistributed uniformly along the length of the nip N so that the pond maintained in the nip will be'homogeneous along its entire area, and the resultin'gfilms for-med from the solids of the pond material will be uniform.

AsshovininFig'ure 2, the distributor lt'includes a; bell-type casing ll having a cylindrical side waillfilm-an end=wall H'bat one end thereof, and an outturned flange I I at the opposite end thereof around the mouth of the casing giving free accessto the interior of thecasing. A gland portion ltd-projects from the end wall I lb and a recesst2 is provided-in' the end wall and gland portionfor supporting a bearing 1-3 The open end-of the casing H is closed by a cover plate Ht whibhpasshown in Figure 3, has apertures Ma around the marginal peripheral portion thereof to receive mounting bolts I5 therethrough. 'I-he bolts 15, as shown in Figure 2;: project through the'flange M a and nuts IS on the bolts clamp the plate [-4- to the casing I l. A gasket l'l is: interposed between the plate and flange H c.

The plate I54 has'a' recessed central hub portion I412 carrying a bearing IS in axial alignment with the bearing [3;-

The casing l I also has a plurality of apertures M c disposed around the hub N b thereof to receive' the pipes C. As' shown in Figure 2, the pipes C can be threaded into the apertures Me.

A rotor i9 is disposed in the casing II. This rotor is is composed of a solidblock of metal or the like with a single tapered bore Isa therethrough having the: small end thereof arranged to mate with the openings Me of the end plate M and having the large end thereof communicating with: a chamber 2-9 in the casing between the end wall [lb and the first face we of the rotor. A second and opposed face ['90 of the rotor is disposed adjacent the inner face of the end plate M.

Avhub portion led is provided on the rotor is in the chamber of the casing.

A shaft 2| rotatably supported on the bearings i3 and [8 is press fitted or otherwise secured through the rotor l9 to carry this rotor for rotation therewith inthe casing. The shaft 2| projects through the gland Md and through a packing 22 held on the end face of the gland lld by means of an end plate 23 and studs 24.

Theshaft 2! is coupled with the motor M shown in Figure 1. The casing H has an inlet He communicating with the chamber 20 therein and receiving the pipe L. A pressure gauge 25 is provided on the casing to indicate the pressure in the chamber 20.

The end Zla of the shaft 2| is spaced from the end wall of the hub portion Mb of the end plate l4 so that the shaft can have some end play and will not be end loaded. The hub lSd of the rotor I9 is spaced from the end wall Nb of the casing and limits the extent of end play of the shaft androtor so that the inlet He willnot be closed off by the rotor and the chamber 20' will always be in communication with the feed pipe L.

In operation, liquid is pumped by the pump P into'the chamber 2!! of the unit l0 under pressures controlled by the valve V. The motor M drives the rotor l9 at a predetermined desired speed, and liquidsin the chamber 2i! of the casing H is forced through the tapered bore lea of the rdtor each time this bore mates with an aperture I40 of the end plate Hi. The tapered bore [9a increases the velocity of the fluidat the discharge end of the rotor andproduces a comparatively rapidly moving stream of fluid to pass through the apertures hie whichwil-l overcome the inertia of stationary or slow-moving liquid in the pipes'C.

The rotor I 9 has the. end face ab-thereof subjected to the-pressure in the chamber 26 and this pressure forces the second face I-9c' thereof: into thrusting relationship with the inner face of the end plate I l thereby creating a seal between the holes M c of theend plate.

The spray heads S on the ends of the pipes or tubes C are in the nature of needle valves which choke off the discharge from the pipes so that the resistance to flow in the pipes can be made equal irrespective of the lengths of the pipes.

The distributor i9 is small, compact, and extremely eflicient. The pressure of the entering liquid creates a seal for the distributor and the amounts distributed can be readily determined by the speed of the motor M, and by the inlet pressure regulated by the valve V. I

If desired-,. the rotor can be slidably keyed on the shaft 2 I.

in the embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 4, 6 and 7; the distributor 30' has the same casing, rotor,.- rotor shaft, and bearing as the distributor it; and these parts have been marked with the same reference numerals. The distributor however, has a somewhat different end plate 3i. This end plate 3! is mounted on the. casing il'ange He in the same manner as described above, but: it has a recess 3m therein receiving a disk The end face I of the rotor 19, instead of contacting: the inner face of the end plate, contacts the interposed disk 32. The end plate 3i has a central hub carrying the bearing [8 for the shaft 2i and has apertures 3ft: disposed around this hub 3th to mate with the bore i'fia' of the rotor 59 as described above However, the apertures Sic are of graduated. size as shown in Figure 71, with the larger apertures receiving the longer pipes C, and with the smaller apertures receiving; the shorter pipes O This graduated hole size eofual'izes resistance to flow in the short and long pipes. Such graduated hole sizes can, of course, be used in the plate M for the. distributor in if desired.

The interposed disk 32 has holes 32h therethrough for registering with the holes 310.. In. addition, a recess 32b is cut in the marginal peripheral portion of the face of the disk that contacts the end cap 3|} This recess receives a cam 33' mounted on a shaft 34'. The shaft is rotatably carried in the end cap 3! and projects beyond the end cap to receive an arm 35 on the projecting portion thereof. This arm 35 is pivotally connected at its other end to a link 36 on a float ball 31.

The float 31, as shown in Figure 7, is disposed in the nip N between the drier drums D. The float is actuated by the liquid material in the nip N and will rise and fall in response to changes in liquid level of this material. The rise and fall of the float and link 36 will swing the arm 35 to rotate the shaft 34 and thereby cause the cam 33 to rotate the plate 32. Rotation of the plate 32 will shift the holes 32a therein relative to the apertures 310 of the end plate 3| to vary the size of the communicating paths between these holes. The arrangement is such that when the float rises in response to increased levels of liquid in the nip N, the plate 32 will [be rotated to move its holes 32a, out of complete registration with the holes 31c. Conversely, when the float falls in response to lowered liquid levels in the nip N, the plate 32 will be rotated to move its holes 32a into full registration with the holes .3lc. This provides an added automatic control to the distributor since the liquid level in the nip receiving material from the distributor actually controls the amounts of material received.

From the above descriptions it will be understood that the present invention now provides a simple, inexpensive, and practically fool-proof distributor composed of a bell-shaped housing, an end plate, and a rotor maintained in sealing relationship with the end plate by the pressure of fluid fed to the distributor. The modification of the invention includes an added automatic control device for regulating the quantity of material distributed by the device.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A feed distributor comprising a casing having an inlet and a plurality of outlets, a rotor having a passageway for selectively connecting the inlet with said outlets, a control plate interposed between said rotor and said outlets and having means for controlling flow from the rotor to the outlets, and float actuated means for selectively shifting said control plate in response to variable fluid levels.

2. A distributor device comprising a bell housing, an end cover for the open end of said housing having an annular recess therein, a disk rotatably mounted in said recess, a rotor rotatably mounted in said housing alongside of said disk, a shaft extending through said cover, said disk having a recessed portion therein, a cam secured on said shaft seated in said recessed portion for rotating the disk when the shaft is rocked, means for rocking said shaft, said disk having a plurality of openings therethrough, said end cover having a plurality of discharge outlets adapted to register with said openings in the disk, said rotor having a single bore therethrough adapted to selectively register with the openings in the disk, and said casing having an inlet for communicating with said bore of the rotor to supply fluids through the bore and through the openings in the disk to said outlets.

GLEN O-VERTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 44,933 Broughton Nov. 8, 1864 613,600 Plant Nov. 1, 1898 712,545 Just Nov. 4, 1902 789,984 Macklind May 16, 1905 844,715 Dunham Feb. 19, 1907 992,521 Smith May 16, 1911 1,094,097 Pouley Apr. 21, 1914 1,143,778 Pembroke June 22, 1915 1,458,355 Nelson June 12, 1923 1,621,876 Doerr Mar. 22, 1927 1,919,779 Enright July 25, 1933 1,968,390 Hamilton July 31, 1934 2,093,692 Daniels Sept. 21, 1937 2,214,195 Frankley Sept. 10, 1940 2,290,350 Olches July 21, 1942 2,415,285 Hurst Feb. 7, 1947 

